Tully: Oh, no! But what will Amazon think?

Indianapolis has taken a giant step in the running for a second North American headquarters for the tech giant called Amazon HQ2.
Wochit

In this Tuesday, May 9, 2017, photo, a package from Amazon Prime moves on a conveyor belt at a UPS facility in New York. Online shoppers will pay close attention to at least two things this holiday season: shipping costs and return deadlines. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)(Photo: Mark Lennihan, AP)

Have you noticed of late how every complaint about local or state politics, or just about any gripe anyone has about life in Central Indiana, generates a similar chorus of comments?

It goes like this: Well, there goes Amazon!

The particular issue doesn’t really matter. If something portrays Indiana as backward or misguided, or in any way unattractive, many suggest that equals the end of our dreams of landing Amazon’s second headquarters. If those on the other side of the political aisle do something we don’t like – well, there goes Amazon!

I include myself in this chorus of those tying our flaws and political shenanigans to whatever decision Amazon and its CEO Jeff Bezos eventually make. On social media and in old-fashioned conversations, it seems that every flaw and misstep is a fatal one, at least when it comes to beating out the other 19 communities and regions Amazon has listed as potential homes to its second headquarters.

These potholes are outrageous! Can you imagine what Amazon site selectors must be thinking?"

It’s all a bit dramatic, of course. I have no insider information about Amazon and its decision-making process, despite paying $99 a year to be an Amazon Prime member. But I do wonder if I overreacted when I suggested on Twitter the other day that the Indianapolis council’s antics could hurt the city’s bid. We live in a country, after all, led by a pair of utterly dysfunction legislative bodies.

As I started working on this column, I considered writing that many of us were too worried about what Amazon thought. It’s a dynamic, innovative company, sure, but do we really need to base decisions about legislation, politics and even road repair on what its leaders may or may not think?

Maybe we do.

Well, let me clarify. This isn’t about Amazon specifically but rather the notion that maybe all of us – particularly our political leaders – should think more often about how seemingly isolated decisions would be perceived by smart, innovative, forward-thinking entities, as well as by people we would like to retain and lure to our state. While we shouldn’t just do what this or that company or group or genius wants us to, it’s at least worth contemplating the messages we send with our decisions.

At the Statehouse, that would likely have led to a rational vote in favor of the type of hate crimes bill that almost every other state in the nation already has. It might have prevented Republicans from killing a bill in recent days aimed at driving down smoking rates. Perhaps it would have led a small group of Indianapolis council Democrats to stop making the city look so bad with their pathetic, power-grabbing antics.

Maybe the city’s Democratic leaders would offer a courageous if politically risky longterm funding plan to address crumbling roads. And perhaps Statehouse Republicans would not have legislated a mindless ban on light rail in Indy a few years ago – an egg-on-their-face move they are now racing to reverse because of Amazon’s interest in mass transit.

The good news is that thinking about what a company like Amazon might want us to do would force both sides to acknowledge that there is a middle ground. Amazon, after all, is seeking a “business-friendly environment.” Republicans at the Statehouse have led that mantra for years and have fought efforts to chip away at a budget surplus and a low-tax reputation that has made the state more attractive to many businesses.

On the other hand, major companies have stood up for civil rights in recent years, rejecting some of the culture-war policies that have tarnished Indiana, and they often encourage the type of quality-of-life moves that can attract workers but require government investment.

So what does Amazon think about recent developments in Indiana? I don’t know. My guess is its leaders are not following the daily happenings of the state legislature or the City-Council Council. And, remember, those other 19 cities surely have their own problems.

But it’s not a bad idea to consider what smart companies, innovative investors and bright minds would have to say about the decisions we make every day, if they were watching. Those decisions send messages, whether or not they play a role in whatever decision Amazon ultimately makes.